Hotshot firefighters thankful for health care coverage

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August 20, 2012 @ 2:38 pm
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By John LauerGuest Commentary

“[T]hey are genuine heroes … . We appreciate what you do each and every day. And so for folks all around the country, I hope you are reminded of how important our fire departments are, our Forest Service is. Sometimes they don’t get the credit that they deserve until your house is burning down, or your community is being threatened. And you have to understand they’re putting their lives at risk to save us and to help us. We’ve got to make sure that we remember that 365 days a year, not just when tragedies like this strike.” — President Barack Obama, after viewing wildfire damage near Colorado Springs on June 29

A few months ago, several firefighters from the Tatanka hotshot crew –- myself included — huddled around a small kitchen table in Custer, S.D., to put the finishing touches on a petition asking that President Obama provide health care to seasonal wildland firefighters. It was almost midnight, and we were being sent to another fire in the morning.[media-credit id=239 align=”alignright” width=”150″][1][/media-credit]

My godson, Rudy, was asleep in the next room. He was born prematurely three years ago, and while his arrival brought great joy to his mom and dad, it also came with a cost: $70,000 in medical bills. His dad, despite having worked as a hotshot for five years, was still considered a seasonal employee and was unable to buy into the government health insurance plan.

Rudy’s father, Nate, thought of his son as he struggled to finish the petition. When it was complete, he looked up, satisfied, and posted it online. Our crew took turns signing it. Then we finished packing our gear and left for New Mexico the next morning.

We did everything possible over the next several weeks to spread the word. We talked to other crews, sent e-mails, posting on Facebook, and made countless calls when we were able to find cellphone coverage. We did this all while working 16-hour days in hot, smoky conditions.

Thankfully, we had a dedicated team to help us spread the word, including the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) and Change.org. With their support, and the support of our friends, families, and other firefighters, the petition began to pick up steam. Then, while we were battling the High Park fire in Fort Collins, we reached over 126,000 signatures.

Suddenly, we began to believe that President Obama might actually hear about this petition and this issue. And we knew that if he could hear our voices, he would act.

In July, after visiting the Waldo Canyon fire where he met with firefighters battling the blaze, the president took decisive action to make things right. In the coming weeks and months, about 8,000 seasonal firefighters will gain the right to buy into the federal health benefits plan, the significance of which cannot be overstated.

Now, thousands of firefighters will lay in the dirt, exhausted, but knowing that for the first time in their careers, they won’t have to worry about what tomorrow brings for themselves and their families.

This has been a decades-long battle. Seasonal wildland firefighters have been pushing for health coverage for more than a generation, but no leader had been willing to take the charge and stand up for us. That is, until President Obama, and for that we are tremendously grateful.

As a firefighter, I am proud of the work I do. I am also proud that I live in a country where a small but dedicated group of citizens can, with energy and tenacity, petition the president of the United States and, more importantly, be heard.
John Lauer lives in Denver.